Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is not something you want to indulge in when you are dieting. Their homemade ice cream is so delicious and decadent that I believe you are actually gaining weight while staring at the many delectable flavors available in your grocer’s chill chest.

I ogled the frozen-treat freezer chest recently at my local Provigo, where Ben & Jerry's ice cream is on sale -- two 500 ml cartons for 5$! With a spectacular amount of restraint, I only bought one after examining the nutrition labels of several flavours.<< MORE >>

There are only a few foods I can think of that I dislike, and even as I try more and more different ways to prepare foods, that list grows shorter every day. Once upon a time, I could not have imagined myself liking beets, but one simple variation on the way it had been prepared for me in the past, and suddenly, I find myself buying beets on a regular basis!

Last week, I ordered my groceries online and found myself adding formerly nixed items to my shopping basket. Among them, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and even turnip. Frugal Fritz was not impressed and asked me what nights I might plan on serving these vegetables, and an "oh, by the way, I have other plans that night!"

The vegetables stayed in our crisper drawer for the entire week. I searched some online recipe sites for inspirational ideas on how to tame the bitter bite of brussels sprouts and for a way to make cauliflower my friend. I found a few recipes, like this one, and that one but nothing felt "right".

Turnip would be the most difficult. As a child I loved, loved, loved mashed potatoes. Mashed potatoes was something I could eat everyday, and often did. Then, one day, out of the blue, I scooped up a spoonful of mashed potatoes, and from inches away, I could smell that something was up. I proceeded with caution, but my eyes deceived me and I devoured the spoonful. The betrayal must have shown well on my face because my mother turned her head away, unable to watch as I spit out the foul tasting mix of mashed potatoes and turnip.

Oh mother, how could you? How could anyone mess with simple delicious mashed potatoes? Why, oh why? Turnips! I had a half decent relationship with turnips before that incident. I appreciated turnips in a good Irish stew. I ate them when served to me in other dishes.

Finally, just before I was scheduled to do some groceries, I did my routine emptying of the refrigerator. I found some lack-luster vegetables, four tomatoes, two portobello mushrooms, two peppers (one red, and one orange), a few beets, along with the brussels sprouts, and the cauliflower. My aversion to wasting food kicked in, so I drizzled everything with olive oil, sprinkled on some salt, added in a few heads of garlic and I roasted it all at 400˙F for 1 hour.

Roasted Vegetable Soup (Part I)

Serves: 4, 1/2 cup servings and you should have about 1 cup leftover for Part II
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
Cost per serving: 50¢

1 roasted tomato, cored, seeded and peeled
1 whole roasted cauliflower
6 or more cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of milk
2 cups of chicken stock
1 tsp of ground chipotle (or red chili flakes)
a few dashes of liquid mesquite
salt and pepper

Place the tomato, cauliflower, and garlic in a large pot over medium heat. Let everything warm up a bit, then add the milk and chicken stock. Heat the soup thoroughly. Add in the chipotle, and mesquite, then puree with a hand held blender until the soup is smooth. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Roasted Vegetable Soup (Part II)

Serves: 4, 1/2 cup servings
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes
Cost per serving: 50¢

1 cup of Roasted Vegetable Soup (Part I)
3 roasted tomatoes, cored, seeded and peeled
2 roasted peppers, cored, seeded and peeled
1/4 tsp of cardamom
1/4 tsp of grated ginger
2 roasted portobello mushrooms
salt and pepper
1/2 cup plain yogourt

Add the tomatoes and peppers to the soup. Reheat the soup over medium heat. Once the soup is nice and hot, add in the cardamom and ginger and puree until smooth. Slice the mushrooms into bite-sized morsels and add to the soup. Heat the soup until the mushrooms are heated through, and add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1/2 cup of the soup to each serving bowl, top with 2 tablespoons of yogourt and some grated parmesan cheese.

I made these soups in two steps and on two days because, for one, I was not sure I would enjoy the cauliflower, but in fact I really did like it, as did Frugal Fritz, evidence being a bowl licked clean. The second reason was that I am not a big fan of reheated "creamy-style" soups, so in this way, I could re-inject the soup with some fresh texture with more ingredients.

So you are probably wondering what happened to the brussels sprouts? They roasted well. The even looked tasty! I had roasted the brussels sprouts separately, drizzling on sesame oil, and I topped them with bacon. Rachel Ray suggested bacon, and GoodHouseKeeping suggests sesame oil - I figure, why not both? Licking the brussels sprouts seemed promising. The flavour was sweet and salty, and I felt that I could tolerate the bitterness. Then I bit all the way through... nope. I tossed the nasty buggers with gorgonzola... better. But wait! Wasn't the point of eating brussels sprouts for its health benefits? Didn't I just negate that by adding bacon, sesame oil and cheese! And it still tasted bitter. Oh well!

As for the turnip, they can last a long time, no?

Alton Brown has been hosting his Good Eats TV show for ten years now, but unlike other Food Network chefs, he has not published a non-stop parade of cookbooks. His previous books were more akin to technical reference manuals -- they detailed such things as how to find the perfect knife, where pot roast comes from, and the secrets to great baking -- and garnered him a James Beard Foundation Book Award. << MORE >>

If you make homemade bread, you know that nothing beats that "fresh out of the oven" taste and texture. Unlike many other home cooked goodies, bread generally  doesn't get better with time. What I like to do is take any leftover bread and put it into a freezer bag. When the bag is full, it is time for bread pudding. My bread pudding is never the same, it depends on what is in my fridge and cabinet, it is not something I go out and buy ingredients for.

This week I found a soon-to-expire bottle of So Nice Caramel Macchiato, described on the bottle as "golden caramel with a touch of coffee." A little too sweet for me, but it should be perfect for bread pudding. I also had some leftover chopped pecans from a salad earlier this week, as well, as some cold coffee leftover from the morning.

This recipe is modified from my grandmothers bread pudding, a family favorite.  It is made a bit drier than other versions I have come across, which was probably why it was always served with a tablespoon of cream or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Serves: 12 or more
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 4 hours
Cost per serving: 50¢

6 cups of plain white bread, torn up into bite-sized cubes
2 cups of So Nice Caramel Macchiato
1 cup of milk, 2%
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1/2 cup coffee liquor
3 eggs
1 tbsp of vanilla
1 tbsp of instant coffee grounds
1 cup of brown sugar
1/4 cup of chopped pecans
2 tbsp of unsalted butter, softened

Butter the inside of your slow-cooker and add the 6 cups of torn up bread.

In a bowl, whisk together the mocha soy, coffee, liquor, eggs, vanilla and instant coffee grounds. Pour this mixture over the bread and toss to coat each piece. Let this sit for a few minutes, then toss again, making sure that each cube of bread soaks thoroughly. There should be only an inch or so of liquid left in the bottom of the slow-cooker after a few minutes of soaking.

Next, cream together the brown sugar, pecans and butter. Dot the top of the bread mixture with the creamed butter, then set the slow-cooker to high for 4 hours.

Serve warm or cold, with cream or ice cream, just like Nanny use to!

Yesterday afternoon, while contemplating whether I REALLY needed to go out into the cold for groceries, or gasp, miss the conclusion of where, oh where, could the Balloon Boy Falcon be, Frugal Fritz suggested I try using the online grocery and delivery service offered by IGA. I am very picky about my food, and I am even more picky about expiry dates. This would be an interesting experiment.

So I logged on to IGA.net and read the details of how my order would be processed.<< MORE >>

This was so easy and perfectly delicious! I made this same recipe with just 2 duck legs, only because Frugal Fritz and I are alone today. We will be using the leftover vegetables and rice as a side dish tomorrow with pork chops.

In spite of duck being a decadent ingredient, it is actually an affordable luxury, costing about 2$ per leg. This recipe was inspired by the completely decadent Duck Leg Confit recipe found at epicurious, but the only similarity here is duck leg!

Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: about 1 hour
Cost per serving: 4$

1 cup rice (I used a mix of white rice and wild rice)
1 cup leek, thinly sliced
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup red pepper, sliced in strips
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
8 sprigs of thyme
4 duck legs (about 800g)
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup zucchini, thick slices

In a deep casserole dish pour the rice into the bottom of the dish. Next add the leek, baby carrots, red pepper, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. Top with the minced garlic and then pour in just enough chicken broth to cover the vegetables.

Arrange the sprigs of thyme on top of everything, and then add the duck legs. Sprinkle the duck legs with the orange zest, kosher salt and pepper.

Bake at 400˚F for 45 minutes.

Remove the casserole from the oven and set aside the duck legs. Add the zucchini slices to the top of the vegetables and rice in the casserole, and then replace the duck legs on top.

Turn the heat up to 425˚F and bake for another 15-20 minutes.

While hunting down a decent meal the other night, Frugal Fritz and I decided it was time we give a fairly new restaurant in our area a try. 5 Saisons Sushi opened about 7 or so months ago and we have often thought about eating there, however, our budget said Japanese would be too expensive! On this particular evening, we were ready for a small splurge and took the plunge.

After sampling a couple of appetizers and a belly-busting assortment of sushi, I am now convinced that this it is one of Montreal's most authentic Japanese restaurants.

<< MORE >>

I went by the Provigo this afternoon, thinking chicken, but when I passed a fridge filled with these meaty pork ribs, I could not resist. The 3 pound package I bought cost less than 9$ and were some of the meatiest ribs I have seen in a long time!

Serves 4
Prep and cook time: 6-7 hours
Cost per serving: 3$

1/2 cup Dr.pepper
1/4 cup of ketchup
2 tbsp of tomato paste
2 tbsp of ground chipotle pepper
2 tbsps of brown sugar
2 tbsps of black strap molasses
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 cloves of minced garlic
3 lbs of meaty pork ribs (sprinkled with salt and pepper)

Put everything but the pork ribs into the bottom of the slow cooker and turn on to high heat.  Blend well, cover and let the sauce cook for about an hour.

Take the ribs out of the fridge and cut into four portions (3 or 4 ribs per person). Arrange on the bottom of the slow cooker, making sure the sauce covers each piece. Ladle some sauce over top for fuller coverage. Cover and let cook for another 6 hours.

The results were simple, delicious, fall off the bone ribs!

I went to Starbucks and noticed a big booth set up for the introduction of the new Starbucks VIA sleeves. Ready brew coffee, by one of North America's most beloved coffee joints. On the side of one panel was a woman carrying a tote, her VIA sleeve sticking out, on hand for use at any moment. Another panel showed a guy, a VIA sleeve in his shirt pocket. On the go! Clearly Starbucks VIA seems to be targeting the on-the-go crowd.

But all I kept thinking was where are these people going to get hot water?<< MORE >>

Frugal Fritz and I have made ravioli several times now and have become increasingly confident in our abilities to create an interesting mix of flavors and textures.

Tonight, the mixture for my raviolis was something that I could only dub as an antipasto. I mixed together proscuitto, artichoke hearts, pears, lemon zest, rosemary and crumbled goat cheese.

Frugal Fritz tried to expand his flavor horizons and attempt a creamy pumpkin ravioli using pumpkin, feta, shrimp, chipotle, sage, thyme, cream and lot's o' butter!

However, our over confidence in our noodling ability caused the first big snare in our project, resulting in noodles that were just a little bit thicker than they should have been. From there, things kind of went downhill. The pumpkin puree turned out to be too creamy and leaked out of the ravioli. My antipasto mixture, though it held together well, just did not having the balance and kick I was looking for.

Both raviolis were edible, and tasted alright, but the thickness of the noodle made it feel like you were taking a bite of a dry lasagna. In spite of this, you could get a sense of their potential to be fabulous, it just did not work out this time.